


The Knight and the Guardian

by Scarlet_Claws



Series: Lovers Of Hyer [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Art, Breathplay, Enemies to Lovers But In Five Seconds, Exophilia, Facials, Fantasy, Implied Consent, Light Masochism, Loss of Control, M/M, Mute Monster, NOT by a tentacle monster, Okay maybe just a tiny bit of plot, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Rough Oral Sex, Rough Sex, Size Kink, Tentacle Sex, Teratophilia, The Author Regrets Nothing, Touch-Starved, but not a lot at all, humanoid monster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:41:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21583192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Claws/pseuds/Scarlet_Claws
Summary: Karn, wielder of the legendary sword, needs said legendary sword back before his country is taken over. The only problem is that he can't get it: the monster that guards it is impossible to beat in combat. There must be another way - and Karn's got an idea, one that implies a different type of fight.
Relationships: Original Male Character/Original Male Character
Series: Lovers Of Hyer [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562377
Comments: 14
Kudos: 175





	The Knight and the Guardian

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate summary: what if you could beat the final boss of a video game dungeon with sex? 
> 
> (In case anyone thought that this story was about something else.)
> 
> Edit: I drew Hyer (aka the Guardian), he's at the bottom of the story. You can go check out what he looks like for yourself at any time.

“It’s the third adventurer this week,” said the king.

The poor lad had barely been able to stand on his own two feet when he had reported that he had failed the mission. He, at least, had remained polite about it. The king allowed the insults they hurled at him in this instance. He knew he asked a lot of them.

“Should we raise the reward?” asked the captain of the guards.

“Again?” The king sighed. “If this goes on, I’ll have to promise the hand of my daughter to whoever brings it back.”

“Father, please,” she cried.

“I know, and I don’t want to do it any more than you do.” The king rubbed his greying temples with the tip of his fingers. “But we have no choice. Either we find a way to get the legendary sword back... or we will all perish.”

“Is the situation really this dire?” asked the princess. She was young, barely old enough to marry – her body was, at least. The same thing couldn’t be said about her mind, and it tore her father’s heart to think that it might come to that.

“The sword wields immense power. If we manage to get it back, we will be considered an actual threat for the Dothisian, and if that happens... they might reconsider invading.”

“Keyword, might,” said the prime minister. “We only know that they are preparing an invasion, we don’t actually know why. They could have motives that make them bypass all precaution.”

“Even then, the sword can help save countless lives,” answered the king. “The Wielder was reborn. It is a sign that the time has come for it to leave the crypts.”

“But the guardian...” said the captain of the guards.

“The guardian,” the king said in agreement.

The guardian was a whole problem on his own. He had been guarding the sword ever since it had been sealed, which was a _very_ long time ago. Legend said that he had once been a knight but, imbued by the crypt and the sword’s power, he had... changed. The latest reposts talked about a tall, armoured beast that struck incredibly fast, never slept and never ate. His battle technique was unmatched among the knights of the kingdom, something the king knew after having sent the best ones at him. Even the Wielder had come back gravely hurt. It was a blessing that the guardian didn’t kill, but fighting him had nothing of a sparring match. In fact, the only reason why he could afford being so magnanimous was that he danced circles around every single one of his challengers.

“What should we do, your majesty?” asked the prime minister.

“I’ll go again,” said the Wielder.

His name was Karn, and he was a youth of twenty years of age. He was recognizable from the birthmark on his face, a birthmark that resembled the scar of the First Wielder. Tall, blond, chaste and noble of heart, he had everything to make the ladies swoon, even if he didn’t seem to care about their affections beyond that. He had a good heart and a courage that was yet to be defeated.

Although it was clear that he wasn’t at the top of his condition at the moment. One would have to be blind to miss his limp and the stiff way he moved. The foot soldiers that had followed him in the crypt had had to drag him away from his fight against the guardian before he killed himself.

“It is out of the question that should go,” said the king. “You are in no condition to fight.”

“We have no other choice,” Karn replied. “If it’s trying again or death, then I would rather try again. I will go alone, and this time I will not fail you.”

“This is pure folly!” cried the prime minister. “You are running to your death when we need you most.”

“Without the sword, I am nothing but another knight, and that’s not what this country needs at the moment. Forgive me, but there is something I must try before I give up, something that no one has ever done before.”

He looked at the king in the eyes. He wasn’t below begging if it came to that. For the sake of his country and his people, he would do it. The princess was like a sister to him. He would rather die than see her in distress, and if he did nothing it was inevitable that it might happen.

“Your majesty, this is madness,” said the prime minister. “Tell him to forsake this crazy idea at once!”

The king looked at Karn long and hard, trying to read him. The eye contact went on for several seconds before the older man gave up.

“Swear on your oath that you’ll come back to us alive,” he said.

“I will, your majesty,” replied Karn. “On my oath.”

“Your majesty! This is insane. I say that we raise the reward to attract more adventurers. Surely one of them will succeed eventually!”

“Simon,” said the king. “I trust Karn. If he said that he has a plan, it’s that he has one.”

There was a silence.

“Very well. But he will have an escort,” said the prime minister.

“No,” replied Karn. “I must do it alone.”

“At least— A few soldiers. Two. One, that you pick yourself.”

“They will have to wait outside.”

“Very well. As you see fit.” It wasn’t hard to see that the prime minister was a little miffed.

“I will leave tomorrow,” said Karn to the entire court – all the court ladies and all the court men, the people he lived with every day, the people he knew, his friends and family. “Tomorrow night, the legendary sword will be back among us.”

He didn’t get to pick his own escort in the end, but they had been warned to let him enter the crypt alone. Some seemed of a mind to disobey if he didn’t say anything. A single glare reminded them of their place.

Karn’s heart was beating hard in his chest. He couldn’t stop thinking back to the last time he had been here, about their furious battle. He had been so sure he would win. He was the Wielder! The chosen hero of the sword. In fact, he had expected the guardian to bow to him and draw back, leaving the path clear for him.

It had not been so.

When it had dawned upon him that he was outclassed, he had felt true, existential terror. Not that the monster he fought became in any way scarier than it had before. It was a different type of terror, a more visceral one: the one of the loss of all he had been told all his life. It was almost as if he wasn’t the chosen hero. What would he be then?

He’d rather die trying.

Thinking back, he knew that such decisions had been selfish. What would his country do when he was dead? He was the only one that could wield the sword after all. What were they supposed to do when their last hope was quite literally killed?

But that had only come after. And before that, there had been the humiliating defeat of having to stay back and heal while others risked their lives – for his sake! He thought that he was going to die of shame.

But he had survived. Slowly, as his wounds healed, he had started to see himself with more clarity than he had ever done before. And, while the picture wasn’t a pretty one, he knew that he could change it.

He had learned one thing, at least. He wasn’t the chosen one because it was what other people saw when they looked at his face. He was the chosen one because he felt so, because that was who he was. He was who he was not because he carried the burden to save the world but because he carried it in his way. And if there were any gods that oversaw this world, they either decided to let him win or see him fail. All he had to do was trust.

That’s when he had the dream.

He still wasn’t sure if the dream was a sign or a delusion, but he had no choice. There was no way anyone was going to beat a monster like the guardian, not even if the king promised ten of his daughters. It was the creature itself, but also the room, the very air that played against anyone that tried to triumph. When their ancestors had sealed away the sword, they had made sure that it would never come out. Only death came out of a weapon so powerful. And only death would come out of it this time, that was certain, but it would be the death of their enemies.

But that was all wishful thinking. Right now, he stood on the threshold of the infamous crypt and his heart was still beating madly in his chest.

Down he went, and then even lower. With how many people had come here lately, all the rats and the monsters that usually roamed the galleries had been flushed out. He remembered when he had come here himself, the fight it had been to simply arrive at the very bottom. He wasn’t the only one that had risked his life on that day, for which he was grateful for, without the soldier’s bravery, he would be dead. Now, the only enemy that awaited him was the darkness itself, seemingly vanquished with a torch; but it came back behind him, surrounded him like the walls of a tomb.

There was light, all the way at the bottom of the earth. It was green and lush, coming from unnaturally large mushrooms, odd yet not unpleasant. He welcomed the sight of it, but not the sight of the guardian that stood beneath it.

If he had been a statue, he would have been made by a master of the craft. He was tall, almost as tall as two men standing on one another’s shoulders. It was like time had been a river on him, eroding his humanity until his face was a perfect mask and his skin made of metal. No armour had even looked like his armour, the plates flaring out to create sharp ridges, the crevices flexible and embracing the muscle under. Karn knew he was warm to the touch.

“Hyer,” said Karn.

The guardian’s eyes opened when he heard his name. Such was the way he was called so long ago, when he was still human, and he remembered. Other than that, it was impossible to know how much of the human tongue he knew. Had that been washed away as well?

The two opponents stared at each other for the longest time and neither of them moved. Karn wondered if the other recognized him. He looked at this blank face but there was no way of telling if he did.

Not that it mattered, because the time had come for the moment of truth.

The knight pulled out his sword. The sound reverberated on the walls, breaking the silence of the crypt. Hyer’s scales fluttered as he tensed, preparing for combat.

Karn threw his sword on the ground.

Then came the belt with its sheath, his helm, his armour plate. Hyer did not move a single muscle as he watched, a statue with eyes that observed. Layer after layer, Karn peeled his covering away until he was standing in nothing but his breeches. When that was done, he stood proudly, as a knight should. Even if his heart, traitorous, was fluttering with anticipation.

Hyer undid his own sword belt and threw it to the side as well. His face, as always, remained unmoved – except for a glint in his eye that said it all.

The full realisation of what he had done – of what they were about to do – hit Karn in full the moment where the creature came closer. This wasn’t like the secret loves he had taken in the past. Hyer was twice as tall as him and he had _no more clothes_ to take off; he was made of spikes and metal, sharp and unforgiving.

And claws. He had never noticed the claws until the guardian’s hand held him by the chin to look up at him and they pushed against his skin, sharp tips like needles. Their eyes met. Hyer’s were green, but that was because of the light. They were like mirrors. Karn looked into them as the creature leaned in, closer, until the colours of his own face were reflected back at him, until their breath mingled.

There was a sound deep in the back of Hyer’s throat and all the flaps on his body – that Karn had never realised were flaps – closed at once, smoothening his silhouette. The human pulled away to look at the creature and was allowed to do so by the latter.

It was as if Hyer had just gotten naked as well, for it was the first time Karn saw his true shape. The scales, so sharp before that, imbricated each other perfectly and moulded the slim but powerful body beneath them. He was wide at the shoulders but narrow at the hips. Karn wanted to follow the lines of his body with a finger, then touch him with his palm, feel for himself the inviting smoothness of warm, polished metal.

He was touched first. Hyer grabbed him under the arms and lifted him only to lay him down, on the ground. Karn felt a slight edge of panic when he felt his feet leave the ground: he knew that the guardian was strong, but there was a difference between being strong and being able to carry him. At any time during their fight, Hyer could have delivered a hit that could have sent Karn flying, but he had not.

Although fighting was obviously not on their mind at the moment. Karn’s legs were resting over Hyer’s thighs, spread wide, exposing more of him than before. The floor was cool against his back. He wished for some sort of bed, but there were none around; Hyer never slept after all. He would have to make do and hope that the other wouldn’t be too rough on him.

He looked at the creature above him, the curves of his body and his perfect mask-like face. The creature still seemed hesitant about it all, not daring to make the first move. Karn reached up to him, to his neck, and the other leaned into the reach, lower, until their breath mixed again. He ran his hands over the guardian’s back, learning that his skin only looked like metal: it was firm and warm, harder than flesh but flesh nevertheless. He found a slit there, crease with two flaps shutting it tight. When he tried to press into it, Hyer pulled away from him. Maybe it was painful. So Karn pulled his hands away, to stroke his cheeks. Hyer was soft, his face warm, a lot warmer than what Karn had expected.

Their lips met and parted against each other. Karn expected a kiss like he had shared so many others and was not prepared for what came next: Hyer’s tongue was flexible, thick, and very _long_. It pressed into the knight’s mouth, coiling around Karn’s, slipped around his palate, and yet it kept coming, stuffing him full. He even teasing the back of his throat with the possibility of venturing further. Karn whimpered. Hyer heard him and pulled back, leaving him oddly empty.

The guardian’s closed mouth looked like any other mouth. It had been natural to assume that it worked the same way. Curious, Karn poked at it with his fingers, wanting to open it, and Hyer understood. Teeth, white and human-like, were revealed, along with his tongue, a red, coiling thing. It twisted around Karn’s fingers and images of what else it could caress so flashed through the knight’s mind. A flash of heat ignited through his groin as the image sunk in.

Hyer stayed perfectly still as he was played with until Karn pulled away. When he did, the guardian dove back in for a second kiss and he was not refused. The tongue, hot and eager, filled Karn’s mouth more aggressively than it had the first time, giving no respite, leaving no corner untouched, until it was pushing against the soft flesh of Karn’s throat. The knight relaxed and allowed him down.

There was a muffled sound from Hyer as his tongue was pressed on all sides. Karn swallowed, briefly constricting around it, and the creature did it again, louder this time; it was a moan. He was enjoying this, more than what Karn would have expected. Not that he minded. Hyer was finally melting, his eyes fluttering closed as he sank deeper.

It wasn’t the same sensation as having a cock in his mouth, far from it. For all its girth, the tongue was thinner, allowing him to breathe... allowing him to take it without pause as it started to move back and forth inside of him, mimicking a fucking.

Karn’s breath hitched when he heard the sounds coming from the creature above him. He was being used for the other’s exclusive pleasure and he didn’t want it to stop. The realization made him blush in embarrassment. To think that he, the chosen one, would be turned on by this sort of situation...

It was about to get worse. Or better, depending on how one looked at it.

Hyer’s hands, so much bigger than his own, roamed over Karn’s body, all over, stroking his sides. They appreciated his chest, hardened by countless hours of battle training until they wanted more. They found his breeches and pulled at them, moving Karn’s legs so that eventually he could toss them away. Karn didn’t know if he wanted to stop him or to encourage him, so he did nothing. Next thing he knew those hands were on his thighs, stroking him there, before moving to the inside of his legs. Karn tensed a little.

Hyer pulled away from the kiss, if it could still be called a kiss, and looked down at him curiously. He didn’t have any hair but he did have long, feather-shaped scales on his head, that perked up in the shape of a hood when he caught sight of Karn’s half-mast. Unconsciously, he licked his lips, making the human gulp. There was a hunger in the Hyer’s eyes, a hunger that could mean many things coming from a creature like him.

Even if that was the most expressive Karn had ever seen him. The more time passed, the more the guardian looked at the human laid in front of him like a treat, as if his desire, dormant for so long, was slowly awakening. Surely someone must have come and at least tried the same as he at some point, though Karn. Especially with Hyer being so...

So... what? Asked another part of his mind. Anyone would look at him and see a monster, right? That’s why he had not told the king or the prime minister of his plan. Him, the chosen one, the hero of the story, laying there with the enemy, the monster that had fascinated him ever since he had laid his eyes on him. How many times had he dreamt of doing just that with him? Was he going to lie to himself and pretend that he had not prepared himself for just that no later than this very morning?

Hyer lowered his head and kissed Karn’s chest, breaking into his thoughts unknowingly. The human watched, then reached for him, stroking the back of his head tentatively. The edges of the scales there were rounder and more flexible than he thought, slipping through his fingers without a single cut left behind. Hyer let him do as he progressed downward. He seemed more interested in exploring than pleasing, with the way he fluttered from one place to another, a kiss here, a lick there, tentative. It was as if he was rediscovering what a human body looked like.

Karn’s breath hitched when he felt Hyer’s hand move up to him, touching him— He hardened almost instantly, arousal like a spring suddenly set loose, and he felt his face and neck burn from embarrassment. There was no hiding that he was here very much by his own accord now, even if Hyer’s face didn’t betray what he was thinking about it. If he was thinking at all. He just stroked him once, twice, then licked his hand – that tongue coiled obscenely around his finger, making Karn’s throat run dry – and returned to his handjob with more vigour.

Karn twisted his neck to look between the guardian’s legs. The plate there was slit ever so slightly, the division so tight that it looked smooth from far. Karn’s heart sank a little.

But that didn’t stop him. He was a knight; if he wanted something, he was expected to conquer it. He reached for Hyer’s face, pulling it up from the groove he was exploring on his hip but was almost surprised to see that the other backed off with no resistance.

It was Karn’s turn to explore, not knowing how Hyer would react if he went straight for it. He stoked his sides, then his hips. For a second, he thought he would dip between Hyer’s legs from there, his skin was so smooth that all caresses came easy to him, but instead he went for his thighs. The creature’s flesh everywhere was hard to the touch, perfectly shaped and set to stay like that for all of eternity. Not even nails could rake him, even as Karn tried.

Hyer watched him do, his gaze curious at best, and let him do.

This made Karn even more eager to draw a reaction from him, just like when he was using his throat before. His hand slipped between Hyer’s slightly spread legs, found the slit. It gave in under his pressure with a _pop_ and Hyer finally reacted with a breath being released a little too fast. Karn pressed his advantage, dipping his fingers inside.

He found soft flesh and heat that would almost be welcoming if it had not been for the eager length that pushed back against him. When he touched it, Hyer reached up to stroke his face and neck, needing to touch something instead of himself, letting Karn do it in his spot. His mirror-like eyes fluttered closed. His lips rounded into a soundless oh. At that moment he lost his statue-like quality Karn saw the centuries of being touchless, waiting for a hand like his right _there_.

And it was so hard and eager against his palm. It made Karn wonder for just how long he had been hard in there, waiting to be discovered. A single stroke told him, from the way Hyer tensed up to stop himself from moaning, that it must have been a while.

At least Hyer wasn’t two times bigger than Karn down there, even if he was nothing to sneeze at; while it wasn’t a monster in girth, it had lost nothing in its length. For all the alien of his body, he looked quite human, except for the fact that his slit made him slick with some a natural lubricant. It smelled strong too, but far from bad – spicy, and male, and intimate. Each time Karn stoked it Hyer produced that low, throaty moan of his, obviously enjoying himself.

Yet, Karn wanted _more_.

His fingers explored as they moved along, seeking places where they could apply pressure. They focused on the head, massaging it until Hyer moved his hips into it needlingly. Slowly, as if rediscovering how to do it, he leaned back, bracing himself on the floor with his spine arched. He was presenting himself to be pleased by Karn.

Karn took the invitation. He leaned in to place his mouth on the creature’s cock, kissing it. When he heard a gasp and looked up. Hyer was watching at him again. His lashes were so long, shielding his eyes from the light, making them appear dark with desire.

A needy thrust of his hips left a wet spot on Karn’s cheek. He returned his attention to Hyer’s length, lavishing it with his tongue. He could feel the other’s hungry gaze on him and this was what made him attempt his next stunt.

Hyer moaned in approval when the wet heat of Karn’s mouth came down on him. The human played with the head and whatever else he could stuff himself with, listening to Hyer’s soft sounds of pleasure; under the hand he used to stabilize himself, the strong thigh would twitch each time he got it _just right_. Slowly but surely, he sank until it was pressing against the back of his throat. He felt the threat of a gag. He paused. He thought, for a second, that it would be too much, that he would never fit it.

And then Hyer proved him wrong when he grabbed the back of his head and pushed. He was slow, unyielding, his massive cock stretching the tight throat until the knight’s jaw ached. Even the hand in his hair held him far too tightly. It shouldn’t have excited Karn so, yet his cock throbbed with each inch that was forced through his mouth.

Hyer pulled back far enough to allow Karn one desperate gulp of air before he pushed back in. And again. And again. Karn realized how powerless he was. If he ever had the illusion that he was in control, it was because Hyer _let him_. Now that he had a taste, he was taking everything he wanted without a care about breaking Karn. It was just like last time, when the guardian had beaten him to an inch of his life, except that this time the danger felt exhilarating.

Karn closed his eyes, focused on breathing, and moaned when he could spare the breath. Even Hyer was starting to lose control over himself, plundering deep within the tight throat around him with abandon. Karn was aware of the other panting and moaning, even as his awareness was fading. The burn of lacking air turned into a buzz. Darkness crawled on the edge of his vision and—

His throat, then his mouth, was filled with a hot, salty taste. Hyer pulled out and his semen sprayed all over Karn’s face. The human coughed a little, dizzy, his lungs burning as he drew in air. He felt weak, yet the rush of oxygen felt incredible. And he was still hard, painfully hard with no touch to lessen the strain.

He didn’t care when Hyer straightened him but he did when he was kissed. That tongue was back, tasting the sum left behind before slipping into Karn’s used, sore throat, frantic. It was too much too soon. Karn struggled and it drew away.

Hyer’s face was a welcome sight. He was breathing heavily, his cheeks flushed with desire. Even if he wasn’t smiling, he looked content from the way he was looking at Karn, his eyes half-shielded under long lashes.

Unless it was hunger, always more hunger.

Karn was back to laying on the cool floor, Hyer on top of him. The latter straightened himself slowly, making sure that he was being watched. He lifted his arms above his head, stretching his chest until his relaxed scales parted ever-so-slightly. Karn watched, somehow knowing that something was coming.

There was a popping sound, quite similar to the one Karn had heard when he had pressed his hand against Hyer’s crotch, and tentacles slipped out from under the scales, curling around them and lifting them. The latter seemed looser now, flopping around easily, and Karn realized that the tendrils were probably what Hyer used to flare them as he did.

Not that he had the time to realize much else before Hyer laid back against him and he was touched all over. He had nothing, not even clothes, to protect him from such an assault. The tentacles, warm and slightly humid, slipped over his skin, down his chest, over his cock, touching him everywhere at once. Karn had not yet recovered from having his throat fucked raw. When every nerve ending of his body became alive at once, his brain simply fried. With each breath came a moan.

Hyer saw the occasion and kissed Karn with the leisure of someone that had just been deeply satisfied. It was not for the human’s pleasure that he was exploring his mouth but his own. Karn felt as if he couldn’t do anything about it save laying there and take it, so he did. As long as Hyer didn’t tease his too-tender throat, he even enjoyed it.

Not as much as the tight, pumping grip around his cock, though. It was fast-paced and merciless, tentacles coiling so close together it was like Hyer was giving his asshole to fuck. Yet Hyer was more impatient than Karn, he wanted him to come _now_ , so some tendrils that were still free dipped lower, around his balls.

Against his ass.

Karn tensed a little. Even if he had prepared himself this morning, even if he was clean and stretched, he anticipated Hyer’s roughness. He was pleased to find out that the creature still read him right: instead of plundering and forcing his way through he teased, graceful tips teasing the sensitive flesh there.

It allowed him to relax. When he spread his legs wider, Hyer took it as an invitation to push in him. Karn confirmed at it was exactly that by wrapping his arms around the creature and finally responding to his kiss with his own tongue. As he stroked his back, he found the slit from earlier, the one Hyer had been reluctant to let him touch. It was open now and the small, short tentacles gripped him like a hand would, interwinding with his fingers almost sweetly.

The tendril inside of him pushed further in with ease, coiling almost playfully. When it found _that_ spot, Karn’s breath hitched sharply from the pleasure. Hyer heard. His next assault was more precise, almost commanding. He wanted Karn to come. It was an order.

Between this and the attention to his dick, Karn had to break away from the kiss to moan.

“Hyer,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “Yes... Like that.”

Did the other even understand him? He couldn’t tell. This thought was soon swallowed by the swelling desire he felt, the pleasure that washed over him wave after wave. His grip on Hyer wavered, tight then loose, falling and holding on one after the other.

It didn’t take him much longer to come. He cried out, coughed when the pain from his raw throat rippled through him, yet it only made him come harder. For a second, he saw black.

He came back to his senses quickly. Hyer was still laying over him. His tentacles had left his limp dick behind in favour of just feeling him up. But not his ass. On the contrary, another had been added in there, even if it only stretched him lazily.

That’s when Karn understood that Hyer was not finished.

Not finished at all.

He was used in every way he could be used. Against a wall, legs up against his chest, or sitting on Hyer’s face with his tongue deep inside. Karn had not lived hundreds of years alone but he certainly felt them in the way Hyer simply couldn’t get enough of him. It was like a starving man... no, scratch that, he _was_ staving, starving for affection, release and company. And Karn gave all that to him until he thought he couldn’t give anything more - but then he gave more.

At least they didn’t do everything in one go. Hyer let him rest, and even leave so that he could wash and drink at a stream a little further in the galleries. Rest was not sleep, hard as the cold ground was even when Hyer let him lay against him. Karn felt his eyes on him, growing hungrier and hungrier as time passed, until inevitable he’d feel a hand on him or hear the popping of a slit opening.

He lost track of the number of times they fucked, lost track of time itself in the ever-persistent glow of the mushrooms. It could have been hours just like it could have been days.

Ah, but the pleasure was worth it.

Karn found himself craving it more and more. He’d climb on Hyer sometimes, demanding, needy, taking his hand and pressing it to the part of his body that ached for touch. He pushed him back on the ground and took him, fucking himself so that each thrust hit that spot inside that throbbed with need. He wasn’t scared of Hyer, of how overpowered he was. He never had been scared.

And he knew that they were fighting. Except that it was a different type of fight, a fight to sate each other, a fight of tongue and moans... and claws, when Hyer got too excited again and accidentally pierced Karn’s skin with his. But he wasn’t fighting _Hyer_ per se, he was fighting the years alone, his seemingly bottomless desire.

And, eventually, he won.

He knew he had when he snuck his fingers inside the crotch slit and found a limp length. He looked at Hyer’s face but the other had not even reacted. He seemed content to just be laying there with his eyes closed and his hands crossed over his body.

Karn insisted with his fingers until he was looked at. He put a question in his gaze, a question against those odd, mirror-like eyes.

Hyer nodded.

Karn pulled away and got up. His legs were shaking from the strain. Everything seemed to throb and protest against moving. He was bruised, raw, utterly and completely _used_ , but he could walk.

He walked to the pedestal at the far end of the room.

The legendary sword rested on it, sheathed and wrapped in a piece of cloth. Karn picked it up. It fit right in the palm of his hand. Even in this weakened state, he could feel its power hum through him.

He looked back. Hyer was still looking at him, his face unreadable. He didn’t do anything to stop him. Not even when Karn dressed again. Not even when he walked away, into the darkness of the tunnel, with his prize. As always, he was quiet.

Karn wondered what a guardian with nothing to guard became.

If his escort suspected something, they didn’t even ask. They saw the sword and just cheered. Laughter and congratulations came to them easily on the way back. Karn didn’t say much. Sitting on his sore ass was the worse torture.

If the king suspected anything, he didn’t even ask. He congratulated Karn warmly again, ordered a feast, did a speech in his honour. Karn smiled

If the princess suspected anything, she didn’t even ask. She thanked Karn from the depth of her heart, then thanked him again every time she saw him for the next two weeks. She hailed him as “my hero”. Maybe she was even a little bit in love with the image she had of him, the splendid white knight that had defended her honour with his life.

Not even the _bard_ asked. He composed a song for the occasions and assumed everything. The line “sword against sword they fought/breath against breath cavort” made Karn choke on his wine the first time he heard it, certain that he _knew_ , but he didn’t, he had no idea. How could he imagine it? How could anyone do?

He told one person, his brother, knowing that the secret wouldn’t spread when shared with him. The man shook his head as he tried not to laugh.

“What?” asked Karn.

“You’re telling me that, in the end, any challenges that the guardian accepted and lost... or forfeited, in this case, counted as a win?”

“I...” Karn had not thought about it that way. “I think so.”

His brother laughed, and laughed, and laughed.

“ _What_?” Karn cried.

“Brother... you could have just played chess!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! 
> 
> Do follow me on Tumblr at @Scarlet-Claws for updates on what I'm up to next, drawings, rambles, et caetera. I love talking about monsters. 
> 
> They'll be more of this eventually, in case you are interested in seeing Hyer again.


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